Saved at the whistle. We were just about to write the G2E Asia expo off this week as having been a huge yawn, and then we arrived for the CEO session, the last of the final day of the conference. Up on stage was Frank McFadden, boss of the Grand Lisboa. For a former professional rugby player, the big Irishman always surprises us by how articulate and clear-thinking he is. So we were rapt from the first minute, and paying careful attention by the time he announced that SJM was stockpiling cash and would have about HK$14 billion on hand by the end of the year with which to make a bid for a plot of land on Cotai if one were to become available.

It reminded us of that song by the Monkees: “And then I saw her face … Now I’m a believer.” Indeed, we have been waiting for awhile to hear from SJM what exactly their plans are for future growth, because we were under the impression that they thought Cotai to be a flop. They had announced before the 2008 global financial crisis that they were going to do a small property on Cotai on the piece of land amazingly cut out for them from the back corner of the Macao Studio City lot. But then they shelved that last year, along with plans for redeveloping the old Lisboa site. So we had to double-check with McFadden: are they now thinking along the lines of big is better and Cotai is where the future lies?

What he said wasn’t a resounding yes. But again, that’s one of things we like about the man. He’s not prone to superlatives. “We are a gaming company. We are good at what we do. We recognize the need to evolve.”

So, what could we expect from an SJM development on a parcel of land, oh, say, the size of Macao Studio City’s? “People don’t come here for a beach holiday. (Wonder who that could have been referring to?) People come here to gamble. They need good hotel rooms. They need good food. They need to shop. Not all of this needs to be done at the five-star level,” he said.

The key, he added, as perhaps a note of caution to manage expectations, will be timing. Cotai is growing fast, no doubt, and SJM recognizes the success of the Venetian in creating demand for mass-market experiences there, which has been great for margins. But oversupply concerns are legitimate, too.

Still, it is clear that the ball is now in the government’s court on Cotai’s development. Speculation continues to swirl that the government will take back undeveloped parcels and re-allocate them. If this does happen, no concessionaire is going to want to be left out of the process. From where we are sitting, SJM would be in pole position to get the best piece of it.

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